Nature, causes and effects of domestic violence on children in Uganda a case study of Bukasa village, Wakiso district
Abstract
Violence on children is a global problem that affects millions of children, families, and communities every year. This study was set to examine these nature and determinants in the context of the Wakiso population with the specific objectives of identifying the common nature of domestic violence on children, the possible causes of domestic violence on children, the effect of domestic violence on the welfare of children and examining the strategies that can be put in place to reduce domestic violence.
The study adopted a case study approach to generate information that might have been left out by other researchers through an in-depth understanding of a complex issue in its real-life context and the study was purely qualitative. The data was collected from Bukasa village, Wakiso district. By the end of the study, data had been collected from twenty children and four key informants through focused group discussions and key informant interviews.
The results of the study depicted that there is a high level of domestic violence against children and these are majorly violated physically. The causes of domestic violence against children were family-related factors such as conflicts between family heads, alcohol consumption, and poverty within the family, and institutional factors such as the ineffective implementation of policies against domestic violence on children and also failure to sensitize the community about domestic violence. Domestic violence affects children physically and psychologically as many children consented that after being violated they get long-lasting injuries. However, home visits, counselling, strengthening legal frameworks, and changing the community attitude towards domestic violence can be some of the strategies that can be put in place to reduce violence against children.
The study recommends the government to assist and support anti-domestic violence practices on children committees and organs, the community to campaign on different forms of Gender-Based Violence as well as developing strategies to prevent domestic violence on children focusing on the family and community level. Well, the children should always seek help when abused to get support and justice since most of the forms of abuse have serious negative health consequences. Since physical abuse was predominant, further work is required to explore the help-seeking behaviors of physically-abused children to investigate if there are services provided to these children once they are abused.